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Home is such a special place. It’s all too easy to take for granted our surroundings, simply because they are so familiar! But that’s exactly why our homes are a sanctuary. They are places of comfort and security. Somewhere we can relax and be ourselves.

It can be a real boost when we buy something new for our home or decorate a room. It might only be something small like choosing a new cushion. But it somehow adds a freshness and we feel proud that it has brightened our home.

This sense of pride is something nurse Margaret Tun at Champa Hospital in India is enjoying. Nurse Margaret can be seen carefully tending to the

blooms she grows outside her new home. With the scent of the flowers carried on the evening breeze, the pots are a reflection of the joy you have given her.

Many of the hardworking staff at our hospitals in India live with their families in homes on site. You may remember that the majority of homes at Champa had fallen into disrepair. Increased pressure on hospital budgets had seen caring for and feeding patients prioritised. Following the Covid pandemic, there was simply no money left to repair staff homes.

So nurses like Margaret would return home to a leaking roof and broken windows. The bathrooms were unhygienic and would flood during the monsoon. The houses weren’t secure either, leaving poisonous snakes free to enter.

But thanks to you many of the staff now have a safe and secure home. It has given the dedicated team and their families a true sense of well-being. They say being able to return to a safe home after a 12-hour shift is a real blessing. They are so appreciative of the new lease of life it has given them and their families.

To date 13 staff homes at Champa Hospital have been completely overhauled. This includes the home of Nurse Margaret, who has worked at Champa for 12 years. Growing up at nearby Chandkhuri Hospital, Margaret always wanted to care for leprosy patients. Her father worked in the shoe department there and the family lived on the hospital site.

Nurse Margaret now lives at Champa with her son, Arav, who is seven and goes to school nearby. Her husband works away, but joins his family every weekend.

She said: “I can’t tell you the difference the changes to my home have made to our lives. We used to have a broken toilet outside, which was awful during the rainy season. Now the roof no longer leaks. Arav used to get respiratory problems because of the damp. It was a real worry.

“It’s such a relief to know the snakes can’t get in now the doors and windows are secure. What a gift of love people in Great Britain have given us! It’s a true blessing.”

It is thanks to you that a further eight staff homes at Champa are currently being renovated.